Mayoral candidate Dwight Evans thinks so:
Dwight Evans held a press conference on Thursday, April 12th to announce his pledge to fully support Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Philadelphia and their mentor programs as a way to reduce violence in the city. As a show of his commitment to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Dwight signed up to be a Big Brother for a young child in Philadelphia.
“I fundamentally believe that we can overcome this scourge of violence Philadelphia is suffering through right now,” Evans said. “Community involvement and personal commitment will be keys to ending the violence, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters is a model combination of both these elements.“

On April 16, 1943, Albert Hoffman discovered the effects of LSD. Therefore, this weeks questions will be about acid. One guess per person, and no cheating.

Another thriller at O’Neals, as for the 2nd straight week, four teams finished within a question of a win. Dork Sided made their way to the top of the heap, edging the Young the Old and The Restless, 92-91. Philly Hardcore scored 90, and the Team to Beat in the NL East scored 88. The highlight of the show, of course, was my mom hosting round number two.

Another week, another win for the Kingdom, who cruised at the Bards on Tuesday. They blew out the field, knocking out Narcotizing Dysfunktion, 108-87.

No surprise at the Vous, either, as the Jams blasted past the competition to finish with 110 points and the win. 1022 finished 2nd with 102.

The River of Rocks proved that they can win regardless of venue, as the Rendezvous semi-regulars edged the Satan’s Minions at the Black Sheep, 111-108. Both teams only missed 3 questions, but the Minions missed the double question about Anna Nicole and the Rocks got it (question to follow on toughest Qs of the week).

A major MAGMA choke at the Good Dog. After three rounds, it was all but rapped up. They had a 9 point lead over Swiss Misters Little Sister and a 12 point lead over 3 1/2 Armenians, starring Steve O., going into the final round. But the wheels came off (possibly distracted by the green sweater?) and they finished 3rd with an 82. 3 1/2 Armenians took the title with a 90-88 win over the Swiss Misters.

A near upset at the Bards that would have been one for the ages. Johnny Utah’s Bulge in Stone Washed Jeans Resurrected Christ came one word away from defeating the Kingdom. But on the final question, “In the movie the Pink Panther, what was the Pink Panther?”, they wrote “A Diamond Thief.” Had they just wrote diamond, they would have walked away with an improbable come from behind victory. Instead Sofa escaped with a 102-99 win.

Local RPS legend C. Urbanus, the leader of the Philadelphia scene, has dropped his press release concerning the upoming season. Of course, I am the defending champion of the city league. I have not announced whether or not I will be returning. I retired from competition after winning last years title and have not played since. Here’s the 411:
The Philadelphia Rock Paper Scissors Championship Series Planning Committee is pleased to announce that the 2nd Annual Pabst Blue Ribbon Philadelphia Rock Paper Scissors City League Championship Series (PBRPRPSCLCS) will begin play on April 15, 2007. The PBRPRPSCLCS is looking to build upon the success of its’ inaugural season, in which over 700 competitors attended nightly events in the hope of becoming City League Champion, a title ultimately claimed by local celebrity Johnny Goodtimes. This event is fully endorsed by the World Rock Paper Scissors Society (http://www.worldrps.com/), recognized as the governing body of the sport throughout the world. The PBRPRPSCLCS is pleased to welcome back Pabst Blue Ribbon, who will be returning as the Title Sponsor.

Pabst Blue Ribbon has become a strong supporter of local and regional RPS action throughout the country, sponsoring local events in several markets. Pabst strongly believes in allowing RPS enthusiasts to coordinate their own events, and the 2007 PBRPRPSCLCS will be presided over by well-known U.S. player, referee, and organizer Mr. C. Urbanus.

Continue reading “RPS Season starting” →

It’s that time again, people! Last year we reviewed 25 different pizza joints in the area, and had a blast doing so. So let’s do it again. But before we get started, I need to know where to go. I’m gonna go back to my top three from last year (Tony’s, Tacconelli’s, and Mama Palma’s) to see if they are still up to snuff, but I need more spots. Please post below where we should go for pie. And it doesn’t just have to be downtown. The suburbs, Trenton, Camden, anything nearby will work. In fact, I recently read that a small town near Scranton calls itself the pizza capital of the world. Seriously. So there will definitely be a road trip involved here. Gonna kick it off tonight with my folks at Tony’s. Please post any below that you know that I should try. Oh, and if you wanna grab a slice and help me grade ’em, just shoot me an email. Let’s get it on!

I had an interesting week of eats. Most recently I tried out that new pizza place at 10th and federal again, called Slice. Both previous times led to a bit of regret. But since it was pouring yesterday and I was working from home, the concept of delivery was all too enticing. Their San Romano Tomato sauce has this “olivey” aftertaste which doesn’t agree with me. Their BBQ chicken pizza had potential. But when I hear the word Barbecue, I get excited. I love bbq pulled pork, bbq wings, I even ate Bbq’d lamb during a Mummer’s picnic this year. Slice’s “bbq” was a mere drizzling. Slightly lackluster. And the crust was spongy but not in a good way.

That was lunch. Dinner was pulled pork at the Good Dog. When I am not organizing beer club, you can find me most Wednesdays there. They feature all their cans for half off (sly fox is $1.50.) I may have mentioned this before. I get very excited about $1.50 beer because I am losing about one wallet per month on average.

Once I get a little financial cushion and have sweet dreams of finally getting a new computer that doesn’t operate off of Linux, I lose my wallet. This time was in utter sobriety at 12 noon.

Continue reading “A Dash of Ginger” →

This Midwest chain, which opened in 1967 by the man it’s named after, is credited with inventing St. Louis style pizza.

What two toppings will you find on a slice of Hawaiian pizza (which, incidentally, isn’t really that popular in Hawaii)?

We begin on Tuesday at O’Neals, which was the site of a thriller, as four teams finished within a question of the lead. The Young the Old and the Restless held off Badger Tsunami in the end, 99-97. Philly Hardcore finished with 96, and Dork Sided with 94.

Things were a little tight at the Bards as well, as the Sofa Kingdom erased a 7 point deficit going into the final round to edge Narkotizing Dysfunktion, 100-95. The Western Omelette finished 3rd with 92.

No close calls at the Vous on Wednesday, as a Jams team at full strength blew away the competition with an impressive 111. 1022 finished 2nd with 101.

An old favorite pulled off the win at the Black Sheep, as the WTF defeated Trying is the First Step Towards Failure, 97-90. They did so despite only playing with two players, the Big Bopper and Eisenstein. It was a huge win for this team, which won it’s first JGT quizzo match way back in 2003. The Satan’s Minions went down hard in the “1997: The Year in Music” Round and finsihed with an 85.

Bounty time at the Good Dog on Thursday. The Axis of Evil Knieval came before 7 p.m., and couldn’t sit down because the place was already packed. But the Sofa Kingdom made it on time and edged MAGMA, 93-92, to take home the gift certificate and the extra $20.

Good thing for them that Axis wasn’t allowed in the door. Taking out their frustration at the Bards, the Evil Knievals put on a clinic, knocking off Speak Up Johnny 110-104. The Western Omelette finished 3rd with 92.

Local bars are touting that tommorrow is the anniversary of Prohibition ending, though I think I’m missing something. I thought Roosevelt ended it on March 23. Can somebody fill me in on what I’m missing here?

Anyways, the War on Alcohol seemed to be about as effective as our current War on Drugs. So the question needs to be raised: should we end the Prohibition on illegal narcotics? Sadly, even mentioning this idea is political suicide, and the simple political answer is just to lock up anybody and everybody, despite it’s remarkable ineffectiveness. (And yes, you may freely post your ideas on this topic w/o me getting snippy.)
RELATED: Joe Sixpack discusses Prohibition in Philadelphia. This is fascinating stuff. Best line in the article? In 1931, A’s fans famously booed President Herbert Hoover during a World Series game at Shibe Park, disrupting the game with their chant of “We want beer!”